Review: ‘The Desperate Trail’

First-time helmer P.J. Pesce gives a tip of the hat to masters John Ford and Sam Peckinpah in this striking, action-packed and at times brutal oater. Concerning a lawman's pursuit of an escaped murderess, the fast-paced vidpic features solid perfs by the principals and a strong script, with enough twists and turns to keep even the short-attention-span set tuned in.

First-time helmer P.J. Pesce gives a tip of the hat to masters John Ford and Sam Peckinpah in this striking, action-packed and at times brutal oater. Concerning a lawman’s pursuit of an escaped murderess, the fast-paced vidpic features solid perfs by the principals and a strong script, with enough twists and turns to keep even the short-attention-span set tuned in.

Story kicks off as Marshal Bill Speaks (Sam Elliott), returning murder suspect Sarah O’Rourke (Linda Fiorentino) to the local magistrate, gets caught in an ambush aimed at the stagecoach’s strongbox. (The stark violence in the stagecoach ambush may catch some viewers by surprise, considering the TNT venue.)

The ensuing confusion allows O’Rourke to escape, aided by fellow passenger Jack Cooper (Craig Sheffer), a frontier dandy who offers her shelter at his brother’s farm. The expected romance-fueled friction fires up between the two, but ultimately gets extinguished by an appearance by the undeterred marshal.

Scripters Pesce and Tom Abrams have crafted a slightly derivative tale using familiar motives by a protagonist to spark the expected plot pivots. However, the style in which it is presented all but obfuscates pic’s shortcomings.

The chemistry between Fiorentino and Elliott similarly belies any problems in the story, which is aided immensely by the latter’s solid-as-a-rock acting skill in a credible and entertaining perf.